Determining the Location of a Stylus for a Portable Electronic Device

1. A method in a data processing system for determining the location of a stylus for a portable electronic device, the method comprising: determining by the portable electronic device at a first time that a stylus was not returned to a stylus receiver of the portable electronic device; determining by the portable electronic device last usage information relating to a last usage of the stylus at a second time, the second time being earlier than the first time; storing by the portable electronic device the determined last usage information; determining by the portable electronic device stylus location information based on the last usage information; providing by the portable electronic device an indication of the stylus location information to a user.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising after determining that the stylus was not returned to the stylus receiver, alerting by the portable electronic device the user that the stylus was not returned to the stylus receiver.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising before determining the stylus location information, accessing by the portable electronic device the stored last usage information.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising before determining the stylus location information, receiving by the portable electronic device a request for a location for the stylus.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the stylus was not returned to the stylus receiver comprises determining that a stylus detector did not detect a stylus for a specified period of time.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the stylus was not returned to the stylus receiver comprises determining that a stylus detector did not detect a stylus while the portable electronic device is being power cycled.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the last usage information comprises one or more of physical coordinates, a time of last usage, a date of last usage, an application being used at last usage, a telephone number associated with a call, or an identity of the user.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the stylus location information comprises one or more of a physical location, a geographic location, a calendar event associated with a last usage, directions to a place of last usage, an application being used at last usage, or an identity of the user.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing an indication of the stylus location information to the user comprises one or more of displaying the stylus location information to the user, playing the stylus location information over a speaker, displaying a location associated with the stylus location on a map, or printing the stylus location information.

10. A non-transitory machine-accessible medium containing instructions effective, when executing in a data processing system, to cause said data processing system to perform operations comprising: determining by the portable electronic device at a first time that a stylus was not returned to a stylus receiver of the portable electronic device; determining by the portable electronic device last usage information relating to a last usage of the stylus at a second time, the second time being earlier than the first time; storing by the portable electronic device the determined last usage information; determining by the portable electronic device stylus location information based on the last usage information; providing by the portable electronic device an indication of the stylus location information to a user.

11. The machine-accessible medium of claim 10 , further comprising before determining the stylus location information, accessing by the portable electronic device the stored last usage information.

12. The machine-accessible medium of claim 10 , further comprising before determining the stylus location information, receiving by the portable electronic device a request for a location for the stylus.

13. The machine-accessible medium of claim 10 , wherein the last usage information comprises one or more of physical coordinates, a time of last usage, a date of last usage, an application being used at last usage, a telephone number associated with a call, or an identity of the user.

14. The machine-accessible medium of claim 10 , wherein the stylus location information comprises one or more of a physical location, a geographic location, a calendar event, directions to a place of last usage, an application being used at last usage, or an identity of the user.

15. The machine-accessible medium of claim 10 , wherein providing an indication of the stylus location information to the user comprises one or more of displaying the stylus location information to the user, playing the stylus location information over a speaker, displaying a location associated with the stylus location on a map, or printing the stylus location information.

16. A portable electronic device system, the system comprising: a stylus detector module, the stylus detector module being adapted to detect whether a stylus is positioned in a stylus receiver of a device body; a stylus usage determiner in communication with the stylus detector module, the stylus usage determiner being adapted to determine last usage information in the event that the stylus detector module detects that the stylus is not positioned in the stylus receiver; a stylus location module in communication with the stylus usage determiner, the stylus location module being adapted to determine stylus location information based on the determined last usage information; and a user interface module in communication with the stylus location support module, the user interface module being adapted to provide an indication of the stylus location information to a user.

17. The system of claim 16 , further comprising a location determining module in communication to determine a location of the portable electronic device, wherein the last usage information is the determined location at a time of last usage.

18. The system of claim 16 , further comprising a calendar application having a plurality of calendar entries, wherein the last usage information is a calendar entry associated with a time of last usage.

19. The system of claim 16 , wherein the last usage information comprises one or more of physical coordinates, a time of last usage, a date of last usage, an application being used at last usage, a telephone number associated with a call, or an identity of the user.

20. The system of claim 16 , wherein the stylus location information comprises one or more of a physical location, a geographic location, a calendar event, directions to a place of last usage, an application being used at last usage, or an identity of the user.